Yupanqui was born Héctor Roberto Chavero Haram in Pergamino (Buenos Aires Province), in the Argentine pampas, about 200 kilometers away from Buenos Aires. His family moved to Tucumán when he was ten. In a bow to two legendary Incan kings, he adopted the stage name Atahualpa Yupanqui, which became famous the world over.
In his early years, Yupanqui travelled extensively through the northwest of Argentina and the Altiplano studying the indigenous culture. He also became radicalized and joined the Communist Party of Argentina. In 1931, he took part in the failed uprising of the Kennedy brothers and was forced to seek refuge in Uruguay. He returned to Argentina in 1934.
In 1935, Yupanqui paid his first visit to Buenos Aires; his compositions were growing in popularity, and he was invited to perform on the radio. Shortly thereafter, he made the acquaintance of pianist Antonieta Paula Pepin Fitzpatrick, nicknamed "Nenette", who became his lifelong companion and musical collaborator under the pseudonym "Pablo Del Cerro".
Because of his Communist Party affiliation (which lasted until 1952), his work suffered from censorship during Juan Perón's presidency; he was detained and incarcerated several times. He left for Europe in 1949. Édith Piaf invited him to perform in Paris in June of that year. He subsequently toured extensively throughout Europe.
In 1952, Yupanqui returned to Buenos Aires. He broke with the Communist Party, which made it easier for him to book radio performances.
Recognition of Yupanqui's ethnographic work became widespread during the 1960s, and nueva canción artists such as Mercedes Sosa recorded his compositions and made him popular among the younger musicians, who referred to him as Don Ata.
Yupanqui alternated between houses in Buenos Aires and Cerro Colorado, Córdoba province. During 1963-1964, he toured Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, and Italy. In 1967, he toured Spain, and settled in Paris. He returned regularly to Argentina, but these visits became less frequent when the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976.
Yupanqui died in Nimes, France in 1992 at the age of 84; he was buried in the Cerro Colorado Cementery.
Cachilo Dormido
Atahualpa Yupanqui Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
caminen sin hacer ruido,
porque en un rincón del pago
está el Cachilo dormido.
Está el Cachilo dormido
con su ponchito de almohada,
quizá, buscando en el sueño
El alma de la vidala,
florcita salavinera,
llegando los carnavales,
se le ha'i volver chacarera,
(Tarareo...)
llegando los carnavales,
se la ha'i volver chacarera,
Hay un rincón en el cielo
donde moran los quichuistas,
donde cantan chacareras
al llegar la tardecita.
Al llegar la tardecita,
corazón estremecido,
anda el Soco tarareando
para el Cachilo dormido.
Para el Cachilo dormido,
florcita salavinera,
llegando los carnavales,
se le ha'i volver chacarera,
(Tarareo... )
llegando los carnavales,
se le ha'i volver chacarera.
The song “Cachilo Dormido” by Atahualpa Yupanqui depicts a scene in Santiago where one should walk quietly so as not to wake up Cachilo who is sleeping in a corner of the town. The first stanza asks people to walk quietly when passing through Santiago, as Cachilo is sleeping in a corner of the town. The reference to Santiago is specific to Santiago del Estero, a province in Argentina. Here, the singer is invoking the memory of Cachilo, who could be a friend or relative, through their symbolic representation of the vidala, a type of music belonging to Argentina’s Andean regions. The second stanza describes Cachilo sleeping in his poncho and dreaming or looking for the soul of a vidala, the symbol for the richness of traditional Andean culture. The vidala, in this context, represents the soul of the Andean people.
In the final stanza, we hear about a corner in heaven where the Quichua people inhabit and sing chacareras, a type of music and dance deriving from the Argentine Pampas, during the evening. The Soco, another vihuela player, is heard humming a tune for Cachilo who is still asleep, but whose soul is represented by the salavinera flower. Finally, the lyrics repeat the idea that when the carnivals come, the vidala will become a chacarera.
Line by Line Meaning
Cuando pasen por Santiago caminen sin hacer ruido, porque en un rincón del pago está el Cachilo dormido.
If you pass through Santiago, walk silently because in a corner of the village, Cachilo is sleeping.
Está el Cachilo dormido con su ponchito de almohada, quizá, buscando en el sueño el alma de la vidala.
Cachilo is sleeping with his poncho as a pillow, perhaps searching for the soul of vidala in his dreams.
El alma de la vidala, florcita salavinera, llegando los carnavales, se le ha'i volver chacarera, (Tarareo...) llegando los carnavales, se la ha'i volver chacarera
The soul of vidala, a type of flower, during the arrival of carnivals, will be transformed into chacarera (another type of music).
Hay un rincón en el cielo donde moran los quichuistas, donde cantan chacareras al llegar la tardecita.
In heaven, there's a corner where quichuistas live, singing chacareras when evening arrives.
Al llegar la tardecita, corazón estremecido, anda el Soco tarareando para el Cachilo dormido.
As the evening arrives, Soco walks around with his heart trembling, humming for the sleeping Cachilo.
Para el Cachilo dormido, florcita salavinera, llegando los carnavales, se le ha'i volver chacarera, (Tarareo...) llegando los carnavales, se le ha'i volver chacarera.
For the sleeping Cachilo, the soul of vidala, during the arrival of carnivals, will become chacarera once again.
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Omar De Lazzari
Un genio total Don Ata ! Inmortal siempre estará en la memoria eterna de los pueblos.....
BENJAMIN Gomez
Me gusta la cancion
Nicolas Federico
La única chacarera que me gusta de Atahulpa.. La letra es pintoresca, y tiene su significado importante, sobre todo para los santiagueños.. Soco y Cachilo en los corazones de todos
Santiago Bustos
sordo
Mauro Capponi Homer
Que significa zoco y cachilo?
THELASTMOHICAN
@Mauro Capponi Homer Soco y Cachilo eran dos hermanos Santiagueños que hicieron mucho por la música popular Argentina. Yupanqui los conoció de joven y entablaron una ferrea amistad al punto tal que cuándo Don Ata se entera de la muerte de Cachilo le dedica esta trunca. Eso por uno lado... Por el otro, ya hoy, en la tradición Santiagueña se le llama Cachilo al duende de los carnavales.. de ahí toda la emoción y el sentir de esta linda Chacarera.
Mauro Capponi Homer
@THELASTMOHICAN gracias por el dato!
Agustin Lucisano
escuchaste , LA HUMILDE
Carlos Javier Álvarez
Agustin Lucisano la hymilde en un principio y esta trunca en el final
Carlos Javier Álvarez
Humilde